notes

Just a moment of your time, please

Maximum Z comedy, feedback, loglines, mystery, networking, notes, public forums, rewrite, screenwriting, script, time, writing
It’ll only take this long, right?

Even though I don’t actively participate on a lot of online forums, I still enjoy reading them, occasionally throwing in my two cents when I think I have something worth saying.

On one such forum, an experienced writer offered to provide detailed notes on the script with the logline he liked the most. He was very detailed and meticulous in laying out the guidelines and rules, including that the script “MUST be ready to read NOW. No exceptions.”

Up until that caveat, I’d thought about submitting the logline for my mystery-comedy, but knew the script still needed work, so instead opted to hold off and wait until I thought the script was ready. And I said words to that effect in the comments.

Much to my surprise, he responded almost immediately.

“Now that’s what I love to see. Writers respecting the investment of time and energy of others. I’m taking about five hours out of my life to do this and I want to feel the script I’m about to read will be worth it. Good on you, Paul, for being so conscientious. It’s one of the responsibilities of a writer no one tells you about, but it’s absolutely vital for building and sustaining a career.”

I never thought of it that way because I was looking at it from my perspective: I didn’t want offer up a script I didn’t consider ready yet. But he makes a very good point – the other person has their own schedule, and you need to be respectful of that.

It’s easy to forget that even though you’ve put a lot of time and effort into your script, now you’re imposing on somebody else to devote a sizable chunk of their time to giving it a solid read-through. That’s a lot to ask, especially when they’ve offered to do it for free.

When somebody asks me if I can take a look at their script, I always let them know it’ll probably take me longer than I think to get those notes to them – and it usually does. Nobody’s complained about it (to my face, anyway). And when the situation is reversed and someone’s giving me notes, I’ll send the script with a note of thanks and that there’s no rush. I’ll distract myself from the waiting game by working on another project or two.

We all only have so much time to spare to devote to work on our own material, let alone someone else’s. Just be grateful and appreciative that someone’s willing to sacrifice some of their time to help you out, and definitely be just as willing to return the favor.

In a timely manner, of course.

Turning your characters into people

Maximum Z blog, characters, feedback, notes, screenwriting, script, writing
Make each one of these a distinct individual. And...go.
Make each one of these a distinct individual. Ready? Go.

One of the notes I occasionally get (as many others have as well) is that my characters are good, but could use some more depth.

No matter how big or small a part a character plays in my stories, I try to make them seem like real people. Sometimes it works, and most of the time it needs more work.

I don’t go through the whole “create a detailed character history” thing, but as I work progresses on each story, I get more of a feel for what kind of person that character is and hope I can transfer that to the page.

So today’s post is going to be a little different, and involves audience participation.

How do you develop depth in your characters?

There’s no one right answer, and everybody has their own way of how they develop a story and its characters, so it would be great to hear what works for you.

The fine art of interpreting notes

Maximum Z adventure, analysis, feedback, notes, pulp fiction, screenwriting, script, self-confidence, westerns, writing
Not those kinds of notes
Oops. Wrong kind of notes.

It still needs some work, but the latest draft of the outline for the pulpy adventure is done, so it’s headed to the back-burner for now as focus shifts to rewriting/polishing the western.

I’ve been very fortunate the past few weeks to have received some high-quality notes for it, which includes a wide spectrum of suggestions of how it could be improved.

As expected, some have merit and some don’t (and this includes some professional comments), as well as a few changes not even originally considered. Each one gets serious consideration, but it all comes down to what I think works best for the story.

When I first started, I would assume every note I got was coming from somebody who knew better than me, but then there’d be so many changes/edits that the script was getting away from what I wanted it to be.

You and only you know what your script is supposed to be like. There will be many notes accompanying each subsequent draft. Don’t automatically think each one is right, but don’t immediately dismiss it either.

Ask yourself “Does this note help make my script better?” If so, how? If not, why not? If you’re not sure, look at it from both sides. Don’t rush just to get it over with. This requires a lot of thought, patience and attention.

It’s also important to not let your pride get in the way of the story. What’s more important – keeping your ego intact or making the story as good as it can be?

It took a while, but I eventually learned to trust my instincts to the point that I can now identify what I consider good notes and not-so-good notes, which has really made a difference in helping both me and my writing improve.

The sound I needed to hear

Maximum Z anxiety, comedy, draft, editing, feedback, notes, pitching, rewrite, screenwriting, self-confidence, spec, writing, writing group
Oh so worth it
Oh so worth it

It’s been a very long time since I felt my heart beating that fast.

It was the weekly meeting of the writing group, where volunteers offered up ten pages of their material for a read-through and critiquing. The time was right to take the low-budget comedy out for its first road test.

Despite my confidence in my own writing ability, anxiety was coursing through me. What if they didn’t like it? What if my attempts at jokes fell flat? Worst of all – what if they thought it wasn’t funny? These meetings are held at a small cafe, so the strongest drink in the house was coffee, so I couldn’t rely on a stiff drink to steady my nerves.

To make things that much more nerve-wracking, the moderator (who knows and likes my writing) had me going last. This may have been deliberate on his part.

We worked our way through the other three sets of pages, and then finally it was my turn.

I took a deep breath, stood up, and began distributing pages (complete with assigned parts), explaining the concept behind the story. Upon reflection, the chuckles and comments of “Oh, that’s good” and “I like it” were harbingers of what was to come.

Even so, I had to force myself to take deep breaths and calm down as the read-through commenced.

Also working in my favor: the person portraying the main character was spot-on.

They got to the first joke.

And they laughed.

To say I felt a sense of relief is a severe understatement, but it was exactly the reaction I was hoping for.

The read-through continued, with laughs in the places they were supposed to be. As expected, some jokes hit better than others, but it wasn’t that much of an issue.

A few minutes later, it was over, and we transitioned to the feedback stage.

Overall, it was very positive. Comments were made about what worked, what needed work, and potential changes. Some of the suggestions had merit and worth considering, but for the most part (and keeping in mind that a few members of the group are not the greatest writers – based on reading their work), I smiled, nodded and thanked each person for their thoughts.

Once again proving it’s all subjective, one person said my character descriptions were “too much” and maybe “too flashy”, but the person sitting to my left interjected and heartily disagreed, saying “a lot of the writing in other scripts is just dry and kind of dull, but this really pops off the page and paints a great mental picture.” A few nods around the table supported the latter position. If your work sparks contrasting opinions, then it must have something going for it.

The evening came to a close, and I left, feeling just the slightest bit triumphant.

For now, I’m still working my way through the first draft, and a lot of the jokes probably need a ton of work, but at least I can say I got past this first hurdle.

Should be interesting to see how things go from here.

-Shameless self-promotion! The Great American Pitch Fest is only two weeks away, so there’s still time to register. Save yourself a nice chunk of change by using the code MaximumZ20 to get 20 percent off. I’ll be there, and hope to see you too.

This train is picking up speed

Maximum Z comedy, conference, draft, feedback, notes, pie, pitching, rewrite, screenwriting, script, self-confidence, spec, train, westerns, writing
What an incredibly appropriate image
What an incredibly appropriate image

My, but things seem to be happening all around me, and at quite a rapid pace at that.

-It took a lot less time than expected to complete the latest rewrite of the western, so the waiting-for-notes game begins once again. This draft is two pages longer than the previous one, but with a lot more character development in play.

As always, I’m distracting myself from worrying about it by working on the low-budget comedy. Churning out 2-3 pages a day is a pretty good objective. Slow, steady and all that.

Meanwhile, the hard part continues to be making sure the jokes are funny, or at least come across that way.

-Over the past few weeks, it feels like there are more and more announcements from friends and acquaintances about positive developments in their careers. While I can’t say the same has happened for myself (yet), it definitely feels like something big is coming. Potentially soon. Call it a gut feeling. I plan on holding onto that sensation for as long as possible.

In the meantime, I keep writing (and rewriting).

–Tuesday’s interview with ScriptFest co-founder Signe Olynyk was, as expected, well-received. What I wasn’t expecting was that she would show her appreciation by setting up a special code for 20 percent off registration. The final cost minus one-fifth of itself. Very generous of her to offer up such an opportunity, wouldn’t you say?

Just enter the code MaximumZ20 at the checkout page, and watch the magic happen.

Even yours truly couldn’t resist and signed up. Yep. I’m going, and quite psyched about it, with the planning and strategy-building now underway. If you see me, feel free to say hi. I’ll be the tall guy in the glasses.

Any suggestions where a guy can grab some quality pie in Burbank?

-If you’re into film, TV, music and/or writing, and in the LA area, and are looking for an informative way to spend a Saturday afternoon, then I strongly suggest you check out the Three Cities Festival on May 23rd. Use the code TCFMAX to get 25 percent off the ticket price (which was pretty affordable to begin with, and this makes it that much more so). The number of available tickets is rapidly shrinking, so take advantage of this while you can.

-Hope you get lots of writing done this weekend, and Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there.